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Sheep Hunting in the Brooks Range, Part 1

August 5, 2008.

I booked my upcoming Dall Sheep and Mountain Grizzly hunt on June 8, 2005.

Tomorrow — 1,155 days later — I'm boarding an Alaska Airlines flight for the first leg of the two-and-a-half-day journey to base camp above the Arctic Circle on the north slope of the Brooks Range.

Needless to say, I'm excited for the final stretch of what has already been a long trip.

Since booking the hunt, I've celebrated a marriage, welcomed a daughter, watched gasoline prices double, and I've seen the prices of hunts like the one I'm about to take increase by 50% — that's a huge number on an already expensive hunt, and Lord knows I'll never be able to save enough to do this again.

I've been working out 7 days a week for the past seven months (including 2-a-days five times per week). I've hiked approximately 320 miles through the mountains near my home with a 50-pound pack, and put god-only-knows how many miles on my elliptical machine. I've dropped 20+ pounds, and am about to have to replace my pants for the second time because I've gotten (by my standards) considerably less substantial around the waist. Almost unbelievable to me, I think I actually weigh less now than I did in college — I'm not as strong, for sure, but I am feeling very fit.

And, I'm still quite worried about how I'll hold up. I've hunted sheep and goat before, and I know how those mountains can wear you down.

This will be a back-pack hunt. No trucks, no ATVs, no horses, no boats. The Super Cub may jump us between the sheep and bear hunting areas, but the pack in, the pack out, and all the stalking and climbing in between will be on my own two feet with a rifle in my hands and all kinds of weight on my back.

The payoff on this trip: tore-up knees, sore back, screaming lungs, sunburned face, cotton mouth, empty wallet, a case of giardia (in all likelihood), one pair of golden horns, the chance to tangle with a great predatory machine, and some memories that are rose-colored enough to make me forget what a bitch the whole thing was.

Here's the itinerary. Could be helpful in case anyone wants to start a pool on when the coronary hits:

August 6	Flying Alaska Airlines from Denver to Seattle to Fairbanks. Overnight in Fairbanks.
August 7	Hopping on a regional carrier to village above the Arctic Circle. Overnight.
August 8	Bush plane to base camp, then start walking in to the sheep mountains.
August 9 - 17	Hunt sheep and bear.
August 18	Leave the field, take bush flight back to the village. Then take regional carrier back to Fairbanks to overnight ... and take a much-needed shower.
August 19	Get up early and catch the 6:30am flight back to Denver via Seattle.

Another item of note ... Today is my daughter's first birthday. Happy Birthday Molly!

Continued in Part 2 ....

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